Growing infection of sound that you have to fully listen to to understand.

I've been told this creature exists, that there are women who are active in metal, beyond flirting with keys and providing angelic voices. I've also been told that the world was created in six days and that there are fairies at the bottom of my garden. But it seems at least one of these propositions is true. Ruby Bullet consists of the duo of Pete Vassil and Suzanne Sterne; but in a reversal of roles, Vassil is merely there to provide drums, whilst the true star (ahem) is Sterne, who provides clean vocals, songwriting and all other instruments. Yet this feminist victory would be a pyrrhic one if this were rubbish, or merely another mediocre entrant to the vastly overpopulated worlds of raw black metal, metalcore or melodeath -- or worse, another heavenly voiced entrant to romantic goth doom metal. But Ruby Bullet is none of the above, and instead they prefer to use a lot of progressive tendencies, off kilter rhythms and unusual time signatures (4/4 time? What's that?) to create a rather unique entrant to female fronted metal. Although it was produced in NY, USA, the album does have a rather European feel. It's hardly a catchy number, but an entertaining release that is a thankful deviation from the norm.

Doesn’t this lady look cute? But hey, watch out. Look very closely. She’s fully covered in blood. Still she tells you, that she loves you. Tender, warm music with a brutal and aggressive undertone. The CD cover also explains the title of the CD. I bet, that the lady in the bathtub has killed quite some people and now she’s washing away the blood from her body. The remainder of the picture was too gruesome to show. Here’s the story of RUBY BULLET. The band hails from New York City and consists of Suzanne Sterne on guitar, bass and vocals, and Pete Vassil on drums. The seven songs have a total running time of about twenty-seven minutes. The first two songs sound alternative and have a nice beat. Some groove is added in “Fall”. Gothic rock and progressive metal go hand in hand, and the instrumental part in this song remembered me of the good old RUSH, yet with an alternative twist. “Thorn” starts off with some heavy riffs, reminding me of KORN or PANTERA, but then they go back to the more alternative gothic style, that sounds similar to EVANESCENCE. This comparison is made because of the voice of Suzanne, who we already know from the band SEX DIGITAL. “What I Know” captures another fine instrumental piece, a lot of progressive rock bands would be damn proud of. Showing us, that the band is capable of turning alternative (or more gothic-sounding) parts into progressive moments and vice versa into one song. Look at the picture on the back of this CD. Suzanne smiles lovely, but on the other hand she looks so vicious. This also reflects in their music. It may look harmless on the outside, but there’s a lot of aggressiveness inside as well. OK, enough said about this CD. It’s time to clean up the blood from my bedroom walls.

I've been following the fate of melodic post-prog band Ruby Bullet in its various incarnations since I first saw them in New York in 2002, when they were performing as Sexdigital. Five years and many more band members later they have cut out all the fat, leaving only the core duo of Suzanne Sterne and Pete Vassil. Their long overdue debut release Nothing Left To Bleed On (Victorious Pirate Records, 2007) is indeed a tribute their perseverance, as well as to their creativity and amazing musicianship. It's no stretch when I say that Sterne is probably the most talented female in rock - ever. At first listen you'll notice her gorgeous voice soaring over the complex guitars and manic bass lines. Then you'll read the liner notes and realize that she's performing those complex guitars and manic bass lines! To see her live is indeed a rare treat: she switches between bass and guitar duties with a power that belies her petite stature. Drummer Vassil is no less extraordinary. Imagine: Dave Grohl meets Tommy Lee - playing jazz! Vassil artfully dodges in and out of alternate time signatures with the grace and power of both bodybuilder and ballerina. The sound is raw and organic, alternatingly punk, then jazz and then metal. The lyrical content is quite dark; Sterne must have worked through some real issues when writing this album. Their greatest strength of this duo lies in their subtlety. They seldom play in 4/4 but they do odd-times so eloquently the non-musician might not even notice. They craft elaborate, dissonant runs that don't sound that difficult - until you try to figure them out! Most of their songs top out at 4 minutes, just enough time to create something both powerful and effective. It's a bit like a striptease - they never show you everything they have at once. I find myself putting this album on repeat more that any other recent release. After releasing a demo version of the album last year I'm thrilled to have the final product in my iPod. This is one band I will be following for quite some time.